Dan Bongino says he's leaving the FBI in January
Asked Dec. 17 if Bongino told him why he's leaving, Trump said: "Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show."
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced on Dec. 17 that he is leaving in January after less than a year as the No. 2 official at the nation's premier law enforcement agency − and after a reported conflict with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files.
Bongino, a former podcaster, had been telling people he is leaving his job early next year and has been clearing out his office, MS NOW reported, and Trump seemed to confirm the departure to reporters before Bongino posted about it on social media.
In an X post confirming his departure, Bongino thanked Trump, Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel "for the opportunity to serve with purpose."
"Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her," Bongino wrote.
Trump praised Bongino when asked about him on Dec. 17.
"Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show," Trump said.
Bongino is a former Secret Service agent, New York City police officer and host of the podcast "The Dan Bongino Show," which brought him an audience of millions of followers and supporters of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement. Since March, he has helped lead a big shakeup of federal law enforcement by loyalists appointed by Trump, who − like Bongino − has been deeply critical of the FBI and the Department of Justice.
After Trump appointed Patel to lead the FBI and Bongino as his deputy, the agency purged top officials, including a former acting director and other senior leaders, after claiming they were too politicized and not sufficiently loyal to Trump and his agenda.
Some of the ousted FBI leaders filed a federal lawsuit allegedly they had been illegally terminated.
A clash of conservative podcaster and FBI roles
Bongino's role in the Secret Service's Presidential Protective Division and as a police officer had helped propel him to a prominent position as a Fox News host and prominent voice in conservative media.
He used that platform to rail repeatedly against the FBI and DOJ for their handling of the Epstein files, suggesting a cover-up intended to protect influential men who were allegedly part of the late financier's sex trafficking ring. He also suggested that Epstein did not die by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in a New York jail on federal sex trafficking charges.
But Bongino's tenure as deputy FBI director was marked by conflict as he sought to shed his role as a provocative media personality and establish himself as the agency deputy, who traditionally oversees the vast law enforcement agency and its day-to-day operations. The role has previously been held by career FBI agents who were familiar with its broad portfolio of law enforcement and intelligence work.
Once at the FBI, however, Bongino declared on Fox News that he'd reviewed the FBI files and determined that Epstein did, in fact, kill himself -- and that he didn't keep a client list as pro-MAGA conservatives had long claimed.
Last July, the FBI and DOJ further infuriated Bongino's former followers by announcing that following "an exhaustive review," they were not going to release the Epstein files after determining "that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."
That sparked a dispute between Bongino and Bondi, with sources telling Axios and other media outlets that he was planning to quit over the announcement.
"@FBIDirectorKash and @dbongino are LIVID with @AGPamBondi over her DOJ Memo and the lack of transparency from her office regarding the Jeffery Epstein files," MAGA influencer Laura Loomer said on X at the time.
Earlier in December, Bongino tried to reconcile his former claims that the Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bombing case was an inside job by the FBI with the fact that authorities had just arrested a suspect in the case with no connection to the bureau.
Bongino told Fox News host Sean Hannity that while he had been paid as a podcaster to express his opinions, he was now at the FBI, where he was “paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”
In August, the White House announced that Missouri state Attorney General Andrew Bailey would become a second deputy FBI director, effectively sharing the job with Bongino − a move many FBI watchers interpreted as dissatisfaction with the job he was doing.